You need a special lab to study the coronavirus. Here’s what it takes to get one up and running
Conducting experiments with the actual coronavirus has to be done in certified biosafety level 3 labs. Here’s how one group got theirs up and running.
Before the pandemic, there was only a small group of researchers dedicated to studying coronaviruses. Now though, scientists around the world are turning their focus to the virus called SARS-CoV-2.
There’s a snag, however. While researchers can more easily study the genetic sequence of the virus or the epidemiology of the pandemic, conducting a full suite of experiments with the actual virus has to be done in laboratories certified as biosafety level 3, or BSL-3.
Only some facilities have these labs, special airflow systems and two sets of self-closing and locking doors, along with some of this research.
